To Consume Children of Magic
by WriteroftheRevolution
Summary: After months of traveling the Earth Kingdom in search of her brother Cinrae and her friends enter into the magical world of Allansar There a magician a theif and a prince help her scowl this new world and uncover a plot to invade hers. Full summary inside
1. THE WORLD OF ALLANSAR

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys, this isn't the first chapter, but more like a guide to the world of Allansar, where this entire installment will be taking place. The races and countries can get very confusing, so I devised this list to help you keep track with everything. If I add new species or creature or anything else, I'll add it on here, and I'll update regularly. Enjoy!

**THE WORLD OF ALLANSAR**

**-888-**

**ALLANSAR: **Allansarians are pretty much our worlds Britons with Renaissance culture and a 19th to 20th century British language. Most of the buildings, ships, and clothes mentioned in this story will be of Renaissance culture, except if they are described differently. The Allansarians worship a mixture of Greek and Norse gods. Magic is a separate order, where almost all of the Magicians are men. Magic is used in ever day life in Allansar, for example, the flying ships are magically fueled. Purple eyes are native to Allansar, especially royalty. Allansar is a vast empire under a monarch who practices absolute rule. The second person in command under the Emperor is the Master Magician. He is the authority over the **Islands of Magic**, and the Emperor's main adviser. Military power is also very important to Allansarians, and is the reason Allansar is such a powerful empire.

**L'ANKVA: **Equivalent to our world's Africa. L'ankava is the largest country in Allansar, but was one of the first to be conquered by Allansar. All of the people of L'ankva have the same dark brown skin of our world's Africa, and the people are divided up into many different tribes with different languages and different religions. The L'ankvakans had been under the control of Allansar for centuries, slavery being one of the forms of control. Many L'ankvakans had been sold into slavery, and many families were destroyed, while most tribes dissolved completely. The people of L'ankva are struggling to unite and form a united front against Allansarian opposition.

**SONGMARE: **Songmare is the only country that had not yet been conquered by Allansar. It is the land of the Elves, a magical race that are said to be the first race on the planet, born of the gods themselves. They are immortal, and have powerful magical powers, much more ancient and powerful than the Magicians. They all have pointed ears, characteristic to the race. They are a spiritual people who become one with nature. Songmare is governed by a monarchy, position of king always passed down to the eldest son. That only happened every 10,000 years, though.

**ISLANDS OF MAGIC (THE ISLES)**: The Island of Magic are where the Magicians study and prefect their art. Young boys who show skill in the Order are immediately sent to the Isles at as young an age as six. There, they stay for the rest of their life and lead a reserved, almost monk like life, studying the Order and finding new and better ways to grow closer to the gods. There are many ancient secrets being held on the Isles that almost never get out. Almost.

**SHORSH**: Shorsh is pretty much our world's India, only much smaller. Some of the tribes of L'ankva left their home during the Invasion, and took up refuge in an unpopulated stretch of land out in the middle of the Western Ocean. There, they grew and expanded into their own race and culture. The people of Shorsh don't play a great role in this story, and are only mentioned.

**THE UNCHARTED LAND OF THE LEOPARDS**: Exactly that, the uncharted land of the leopards. Those who actually survive the unmarked territory say that large black leopards who can talk in habit the island. But, those are just rumors :).


	2. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender

AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, here's the first chapter of "To Consume Children of Magic"! Sorry it's taken me so long to post it. School's been taking up 99.9% of my time. I'll try to find the time to get chapters up quickly. So, heeeerrrrrre we go! (Hint: Some of you might want to read "The Games We Play", and "To Consume Children of Fire" before reading this. Might help.)

SUMMARY: After months of searching the Earth Kingdom for her brother, Princess Cinrae is forced to extend her search beyond the reaches of the globe. With an ancient map of a lost world to guide her, her and her friends discover a new world, lost to humanity for ages. Or, at least, that's what they thought. Now, with the help of the daughter of an emperor, a street thief, and an Elvin prince, they must uncover a deadly plot by an arrogant, power hungry emperor to invade the elemental world. But, with Cinrae's brother, Zuko II's, trail still fresh, she must choose between saving her brother, or saving the world.

CHAPTER 1

We had been sailing for days, weeks, it seemed. The air had changed temperature at least five times while we had been on the sea. I lied on the many rice bags that were kept on the stolen ship and looked up at Manek. He raised the sail slowly as the wind from the east picked up. I smiled when I saw him.

It had been over three months since he saved me from those raiders who were desperate to rob and kill a pretty little "boy" like me. I and almost giggled at the thought of his face when he discovered I was a girl. He probably felt my stares and he looked down at me and smiled. We had been a couple for about two months, after that night when we admitted our love in the barn. I did love him. He had opened a world that I unknowingly walked into.

"Arra, please learn to 'meditate' in some other part of the ship!"

"I have to meditate every day, Sonziah, you know that. Do you know how hard it is to maintain control over two elements and a whole other power? It's hard enough to not drown us now under a wave of water and air."

I sat up and saw Sonziah and Arra fighting, as usual. They are cousins after all. When we told Sonziah that Arra was going to travel with us, she wasn't exactly eager for a family reunion. Arra was the youngest of us, and the most annoying, I hesitantly say. Yet, she was the most powerful.

The waters became choppy as the wind flew us over the waters. We had passed the Eastern Air Temple ruin days ago, so basically, we had no idea where we were going after we passed that Air Temple, for our maps did not stretch farther.

"Did you send a messenger hawk to your family, like I told you?" said Manek as he leaned on the mast. He had been worried about my family sending a Fire Nation search party after me ever since we set out for this lost world after Zuko.

"Yes, mother dear, I have sent multiple messenger hawks to the Fire Nation. They'll get it one way or another."

"Good. So, shall we find out where we are?" he said pulling a crude stool up to a large crate, substituting for a table. He rolled out our torn, wet map of _our _world and half of the map of this lost world that we were heading for. Arra and Sonziah heard him roll out the map and surrounded the table along with me.

"According to my views of the stars at night and Sonziah's knowledge of this map, we are right here." He stabbed his finger at a stretch of water at the edge of our map and at the edge of the other map.

"So, where are we? In the middle of nowhere?" I asked. Manek shot a glare at me.

"I'm not sure, Cin. I mean, I didn't plan this trip, you wanted to follow your runaway brother and I am following you, general."

That was true. We had been following Zuko for months and every time we get close, he slipped out from under us. Many times I wanted to give up and head back home, but now we were on to something. I knew that if we reached this place, this lost world, we would discover something amazing. I could just feel it and I was never wrong about things like this.

"Maybe we should just turn back now." said Sonziah, who had had a terribly bad attitude over the past few days. "I mean, we came this far, didn't we? It wouldn't be a totally disgrace to go home."

I snapped my head around so quickly, Manek swore he heard it snap.

"Turn back? No, we can't! We still haven't found Zuko yet." Sonziah turned to face me, the same icy coldness of her home land apparent in her grey eyes.

"Your brother is a lazy disgrace of a prince, who doesn't give a bloody earth about the Fire Nation, or anything else, for that matter."

"I have to find him, Sonziah! Not just because he's my brother, but because he's my friend. Also, who knows what we'll see in the coming days? Who we'll meet, what we'll do? I won't have us turn back, and yes, it would be a disgrace if we did! Stay on course, Manek, we go straight."

Manek rubbed my shoulders and shrugged in Sonziah's direction, knowing that this was just a little temper flare between two strong willed girls. There were only four of us, and we all had had some kind of leadership position in our lives. It was just so hard to stay calm and ready for anything when I had assumed leadership of a vagabond group of wanna be bounty hunters. We had no course, no true direction. Unless something happened soon, we could be sailing forever on an endlessly sea, and it would be all my fault.

-888-

The stars decorated the sky in a endless maze of patterns and forms. The chill that swept in from the east could barely be felt as Manek held me against his body. The blankets really didn't do much, since they were so thin. The ship didn't have anything equipped for the cool weather of the far eastern sea.

Sonziah was curled up in the bird's nest, making her own small bunker away from everyone else. Arra had made her own hammock out of fishing net and decorated in with sea shells, pearls, and other things of the sea that we sailed past. She hung it between two of the mast, yet she didn't need it. There was a pool of air underneath the hammock, rocking it like a ship on the sea. We had all adapted to our surroundings so quickly and easily, it was going to be hard to leave.

"Manek, do you think I'm doing a good thing?" I asked suddenly. Manek was already half asleep, and thought that I was already deep in sleep.

"Um, are you referring to this whole quest thing, or your growing kissing skills?" Manek looked down at me with a devilish smile, and I couldn't help but laugh up at him.

"You know what I mean. Do you think having the girls come with me on this ostrich goose chase was a good idea?"

"Well, not that we can do anything about it now, but, Cin, I think even though these girls get a little agitated sometimes, it doesn't mean that they won't loyally follow you. You are the oldest of both, so they hold your opinion pretty closely. Why? Are you doubting their loyalty?" I sat up and let my head rest on a heavy box.

"No, I just thought about what Sonziah said about my brother this afternoon. He is a disgrace."

"No, no." Manek said as he sat up, as well. " Your brother just seems a little scared, that's all. I mean, it's not easy for a boy, maybe even a man yet, to assume the throne of a whole country without warning. He's just trying to get his head together. Don't worry, we'll find him." He smiled, and leaned over to kiss me on this cheek. I smiled back at him, but behind hat smile my heart held great worry. If only he knew the whole story. My brother wasn't running from his duties, but something far worse, I feared.

-888-

When we did wake, the sun stretched out over the open sea, filling it with light. It was so beautiful, I could have sighed. Then, something caught me eye. At the edge of the horizon was some sort of statue protruding from the sea. I could not make out the outline of it, but I knew it was there.

"Whoa." said Manek as he came to stand beside me. "What's that?"

"I don't know?"

"It looks like a building." said Sonziah as she also leaned over the edge of the ship.

"Maybe it's some kind of mile marker." said Arra, stretching her arms with a yawn.

"Well, we'll know for sure once we sail past it." I answered, my mind swirling with questions.

As we sailed on, the chilling wind picked up, drawing us toward the horizon. Also, the water grew darker, and choppier. Our small fishing boat could barely stay on course with the forces of nature working against it. We were getting closer to the statue, and I could make out its profile. It was a person, with a strong, stern face, and it's hands were out in front of it, like they were holding something.

"It's probably some kind of memoir." said Manek.

"Or a gate." I said in return.

The wind was moving faster with every passing second, like there was some unseen force pulling us. Soon, the boat was moving so fast, we had to hold on to the closest bolted down object in order to not be thrown off.

Suddenly, the boat hit something large and hard, causing the boat to leap into the air by about twenty feet. Arra was the only one who wasn't screaming for dear life. She was used to being sky high. We landed back on the water, the waves we caused almost consuming the boat. We were all completely terrified, still holding on to the boat.

"What was that?" asked Manek.

"Maybe it was the Coral Wall. We could have hit some kind of force feild." said Arra.

"Well, whatever it was, it probably damaged the ship pretty well. We'll have to find land soon, or we'll sink."

It didn't take me long to realize that no one was listening to me, for they all were staring at something. The icon was now directly in front of the ship. It was beautiful. It was near fifty foot tall statue of a woman with long, flowing hair holding her arms out toward the horizon. She was holding something, like a tablet, that had a word etched into it in a language that I could not read.

"Arra," I asked. "What does that say?" After a moment of wide eyed staring, she swallowed, and answered me.

"Allansar."

-888-

The sun was beginning it's slow assent into the sky when other signs of life were finally seen. Seagulls, with the same loud call and pure white feathers, could be seen hovering in the sky. Seagulls weren't the kinds animals to fly far from land. That meant that we were close.

"Finally, life. I was beginning to think that your feelings might be off for a moment." said Manek, who was layed out on his back and staring up at the sky. I playfully kicked his side, even though I too was beginning to doubt my feelings for a moment.

"I see something!" Arra shouted from her post in the bird's nest high above. We all flew to the prow of the ship, leaning over as far as we could, straining to see whatever it was she was seeing. After a good few minutes of straining my eyes and seeing nothing, I realized that whatever it was Arra was seeing must have been miles upon miles ahead of us.

"I don't see anything." I said, admiting deafeat. "You?" I asked Manek who was standing next to me.

"Nope. Nothing but ocean, ocean, and more endless ocean." He said, the sarcasm thick in his voice.

"Dido." chimed in Sonziah in complete monotone. Arra jumped down from the bird's next and landed neatly beside us.

"But, you guys, I know I saw something. Maybe you all just didn't see it because it was in the air. See! there it is!" Her arm immediately flew out at an angle, and we followed where she was pointing until we saw it, as well.

When I saw my first Allansarian ship, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was ridiculously large, towering over our small fishing ship with ease. Large, white sails billowed in the wind, reflecting a blinding light into our eyes. And, it was all made of a deep, rich wood. I used to think that only metal could be used to make such grand ships. But, all of this was trumped by the awesome fact that it was in the air. Yes, it was flying. All of us were stunned stiff, almost not even breathing.

As we grew closer to this magical ship, the sailors who kept it could be easily seen. Most of them had the same tan skin, golden hair, and purple eyes that we had seen in the book we discovered in the library, but some had brown, black, or even bright orange red hair with brown, blue, or green eyes. But there were some who had skin that was such a dark shade of brown, it looked almost black, with large, golden, piercing eyes. They seemed to be more physically able than the tan skinned men, and some had these stoic, determined looks on their faces, they were almost daring you to even look at them the wrong way. I had never in my life seen people of that race, and I was fascinated by them.

As we sailed past (actually, more like under) the ship, sailors started to notice our prescence. One young boy with thick golden hair that bounced about his head when he moved, leaned over the railing and actually waved down at us. We all slowly waved back with odd half smiles on our faces.

"Oy! Looks like you lads are in a bit of a pickle, aye?" He asked with a wide smile on his face.

Now, I had spent a month and a half on a boat with not just any sailors, but _pirate _sailors, and I had never heard any one of them speak like that. I could understand him only barely, for he had a strange accent that slurred the words a bit, but sounded like the melody to a beautiful song. He used slang that I was totally unfamiliar with, and could only guess at the meanings.

"Be nice, Alder. You can see that these are foreigners." said a dark skinned man who was standing by the boy, looking down at us as well. He had the same type of accent as the boy, but with a deeper, cleaner tone of voice. He was obviously a great deal older than this Alder boy, even though he didn't look a thing like it.

"What? I'm just givin' the poor *gormless dafts a hand. Where are you lot headed?" he shouted down at us. I looked around at the faces of my small gang, and assumed that I was also speaker of the group.

"Land would be great. A well stocked sea port, pretty much." I shouted back up to him. The two men looked at each other with confused expressions, than back down at us.

"I've never heard that kinda accent before. It's quite odd." said the boy Alder with a witty half smile.

"So's yours. You don't see me pointing it out." I responded. The boy stood straight, quite baffled by my sharp tongue, and the dark skinned smiled in approval.

"Well, blimey. Look who's got her wits about her. Wait, you are a she, right?" he said, trying to give a comeback of his own. I rolled my eyes, becoming quite annoyed with this boy. If all he was going to do was act like an idiot, we needed to move on.

"Can you help us or not?" I asked, the irritation apparent in my voice.

"Okay, okay, don't get your panties in a bunch." said Alder, holding his hands up in defence.

"Keep heading northeast, and you'll be pulled into the current of the River of Montar. Let it carry you past the Gates of the Two Brothers into the Sea of Montar, and you'll find yourself in Montar, the Empire Capital, and the largest port on this side of the Forn River. Can't miss it." said the dark skinned man, who had a great deal more sense than his young golden haired friend.

I nodded thanks, and we continued to sail northeast. The two men contiuned to watch us as we sailed on.

"Hey, can you and your pretty friends give us a ring sometime?" I heard Alder yell out at us. I could almost swear I heard the older dark skinned man smack him upside the head.

-888-

The sun continued to rise as we followed our directions and sail northeast, and a strange current did pick us up, and carried us along a large, winding river. There were many homes set up along the edges of the the river, most of them large, elegant mansions. The music, laughter, and pure elegance that flowed from these places hit our sea drenched bodies like a cold wind. I truly realized how far away I was from the wonder and grandeur of home.

The Sea of Montar was guarded by two large statues of men in ancient dress. One wore a long robe, and held a thick book in one arm, while holding a wand in the other. The other statue was of a military man decked in full armor, holding a map of the world in the opposite arm of the long robed man, while having his other hand rested on the hilt of his sword. I learned later that one represented Magic and the other military strength, the two completely opposite things that Allansar was first built on.

Than, the magical world of Allansar opened up to us.

* * *

**A/N: There you go! First chapter. I know that the nationalities and the geography of Allansar sounds a bit confusing, but it helps when you look back at the World of Allansar list, and you can also see a detailed map of Allansar on deviantART. Just search for Map of Allansar, and you'll find it. So, I hope you all enjoy! Please read and review! **

***clueless**


	3. Chapter 2

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes, I know, it has been forever since I updated, and I am truly sorry for that. I promise I'll try to get these chapters up quicker.

CHAPTER 2

The sea of Montar was sheltered between a large bay, where mountains thick with green forest surrounded the large collection of water on the right side, while the ocean could almost be seen across the large stretch of land that held the capital city. The port wrapped almost all the way around the bay to accommodate all of the ships that were docking around the clock. The capital city stretched out to the left of us as we traversed the crowded sea, the shimmering of thousands of rooftops almost blinding us. At the farthest end of the city, I could see a large, grand castle that shimmered in the mid-day light. There was this elegant, magical ora around it that reminded me of the castles I had read about in story books. I never imagined that I would actually see one one day.

As we maneuvered between the sea of ships and boats, we received plenty of stares, and gave just as many. Even with our regional differences, all of those in our group looked somewhat similar. But, here, we were completely foreign. People here had such an odd skin shade, something I had never seen before. Also, their fashion was almost ridiculous, or at least to me. The women that we saw were wearing tight, constricting dresses that seemed to lace up in the back, and then have a wide, full skirt that spread out around them. Their long, flowing ringlets of hair were up in more complicated fashions than the woman back home. And they had some pretty crazy hair styles back home. The men had pretty simple clothes; loose pants, long tunics, and a series of robes that hung off of their bodies limply. At least, the men who were simply passengers on these grand liners that we passed dressed that way. The men who actually sailed the ship wore tight fighting brown or black pants with large white shirts, even though some wore no shirts at all, with large coats and strange three point hats. The class differences were very apparent here.

Manek was finally able to squeeze us into a dock, even though it didn't amount for anything in between the awesomeness of a five level flying ship, and a mile long ferry. We looked like a bug in between two lion turtles.

"Excess seems to be a favorite with these people." said Manek as he walked past me. I nodded with a slight smirk on my face, even though my mind was occupied with finding our way through this world, and, more importantly, finding my brother. Arra leaped up about ten feet, flexing her arms, and taking in a deep breath.

"The air is so different here!" she said was a contented sigh. "There's this power, this...this magic in it, and it feels wonderful. I wonder what it's like when I bend it." Arra was about to perform a complictaed airbending move, but I quickly stopped her.

"That wouldn't be the best of ideas, Arra. I doubt that the airbenders fled here after the Genocide of Air, so I don't think they'd be as used to your air burst as we are. We have to blend in as much as we can here." Arra sighed, knowing that I was right, and abandoned the idea while grumbling about how unfair I was as she walked off, occupying herself with something else.

Sonziah came up to stand next to me, braiding her long hair in the process.

"So," she said once she finished, placing her hands on her hips, "where do you wannna start?" she asked. I ran my hand through my hair, which was already starting to grow back, not really knowing where to start myself.

After about twenty minutes of stalling, we left the boat. Before we blended completely into the growing crowd, I looked back at the small fishing boat that had carried us across an endless ocean to the other end of the world, and smiled. I was going to miss that little ship, believe it or not.

-888-

The city of Montar was a vibrant and colorful place, filled to the brim with people. This place rivaled Ba Sing Se in population, and Jazminra in activity. As we moved deeper and deeper into the city, our foreign appearances seemed to fade into the life of the city.

We squeezed through crowded, narrow ally ways where the buildings stretched to the sky on either side of us. Vendors were set up at every angle, colorful, bright items glittering their stands. Also, as we walked through these narrow streets, I realized that not everyone in this city looked the same, after all. There were some people with that dark brown skin that fascinated me so, but, most were ushered past me in chains. I snorted, realizing that even a magical world wasn't perfect. There were also people with a dark tan shade of skin and thick black hair gracing their heads. The men wore odd turbanes on their heads with light, bright clothes. The women with this shade of color skin, however, were almost completely covered, only their eyes showing, and sometimes, not even that. I could never be completely covered all of the time.

Arra was having the time of her life, however. She leaped from booth to booth, picking up everything she saw, and studying it intently. The merchants and citizens were equally amazed with Arra, having never seen a girl like her before. Her thick brown hair and large blue eyes were just as much a wonder in Allansar as in our world.

"Ah, I see the pretty girl likes fine things." said a thin merchant with wiry brown hair and dark blue eyes. He wore many shades of dark colors, draped around his body like a second skin.

"Oh yes, all of these things are absolutely beautiful. Especially this scarf!" she said as she held up a long, beautiful scarf filled with an assortment of colors, and deep, intricate designs. The merchant's eyes seemed to light up as he spotted a potential sale.

"Yes, this scarf is a rare thing of beauty indeed. From the farthest reaches of the world, and beyond." he said with a theatrical air. He then crouched low to Arra's ear, looking around like someone may be watching. "Even beyond the Coral Wall. But, don't tell anyone I told you." Arra looked up at the merchant, slightly confused.

"Why would I not need to tell anyone?" she asked, her expressive eyes showing confusion and worry. The merchant looked at Arra as if he was seeing her from a different angle for the first time. He laughed lightly as he realized that Arra really didn't understand.

"My dear, you're not from around here, are you?" Arra blushed some, bowing her head. The man smiled, than looked closer to her, studying her face. "Then, where are you from?"

Arra immediately knew that she probably just blew it for all of us, so she let down her mental blocks, and searched the merchant's mind.

_'By Gaia*. This girl is from the Other Side. I wouldn't doubt that her friends are, too. I have to alert the Guards.' _

As soon as Arra heard this, she knew that she had made a big mistake.

"Well, it is a beautiful scarf, but, I'm afraid that I'm just not feeling spendy today. We have to be going now, right guys?" she asked turning to us with a large, fake grin on her face. Sonziah was the only one out of us all who had seen that look on her cousin's face before. It meant trouble.

"Yeah, we should probably get going." she said, catching Arra's drift. Manek and I on the other hand were oblivious to the exchange between relatives.

"No, no, I'm still looking. Look at these fabrics, I've never seen such interesting colors." I said, studying a long role of fabric that I pulled from a stack.

Sonziah pulled on Manek's arm, trying to alert him of the danger since I was completely oblivious. He looked at the younger girl, greatly confused, not understanding the need for a speedy exit, until he noticed the merchant. He still had a trickster's smile on his face, but he wasn't looking at his customers anymore. He was scanning the crowd, like he was looking for someone. Finally, the merchant noticed a pair of strong looking men in shining armor standing on the street corner, and struggled to discreetly motion towards them. Obviously, the merchant wasn't that great of a sleuth, for Manek noticed his attempts immediately.

"Cinrae, we really should be going." Manek wrapped his hand around my arm, pulling slightly, but I was still absorbed in the new shopping territory.

"Just wait a minute wont'cha? And why are we in such a hurry anyway? Hey, I think I've seen that scarf before..."

The guards had finally noticed the merchant's flailing hand gestures, and made their way through the crowds over to his cart. Sonziah, Arra, and Manek all noticed, and were now struggling to get me to move.

"Cinrae, come on!" yelled Manek, pulling harder on my arm. I was paying very little attention to his efforts, however, but was more occupied with struggling to identify the origin of this beautiful scarf. Suddenly, I realized where I had seen it before.

"That's my scarf!" I screeched. The guards were now running towards us. In his frustration, Manek simply picked me, and started to run. I was still too caught up in my newly found scarf to notice.

"Put me down, that's my scarf! My grandmother made that for me when I was ten! Manek, put me down! Wait, why are you carrying me? Why are we running? Did I miss something!?"

"Will you just shut up!" Manek yelled as he put me down while still running. "We're being chased by some guards." I looked behind me, and my eyes widened when I saw the two armor clad guards chasing after us. I did as Manek bid me, and shut up, hoping that my feet wouldn't fail me now.

None of us had any idea where we were going, but we ran anyway. There was an intense crowd in what I assumed to be the town square, for there was a large statue of a powerful looking man in the center of a round alcove in the middle of the town, and we thought we could lose the guards quickly in that. To our dismay, they only attracted more guards.

"This isn't going well." said Manek as we continued to speed off through the foreign streets.

"Hugh, ya think?" I said, making the sarcasm as obvious as I could.

"You know, when we started out on this epic journey, I didn't see getting arrested in our immediate future." said Sonziah who had come out of almost nowhere. I smirked in her direction, but had to quickly jump back into reality as I leaped over some poor boy's cart. I shouted sorry over my shoulder, even though I'm sure he was too stunned to care.

"Why can't we just face them?" asked Arra, who wasn't the least bit winded after running for twelve minutes.

"Because, we'll attract even more attention to us when we've got air, water, and fire flying all over the place!" I said, almost out of breath. "No, we just gotta lose them. Eventually."

---

She had only come out for one thing, and one thing only. Just get what she wanted, than get home before anyone noticed she was missing. That was until she saw four foreign looking characters running down the street being chased by about six members of the infamous Guard. Her impetuous attitude told her to do something, to help these poor people, but her more sane side told her to turn around and go home.

"That's right," she told herself. "Go home. Go. Home." She sighed, pulling the hood of her cloak forward more to help hide her face, and headed home.

She was just about to ascend from the dark alley way and enter into the flow of the busy street, but she almost fell backwards when a orange flash of color sped past her. She gripped her chest, feeling that her heart was about to jump out of her chest. Another person ran by her, but, this time, she could actually tell who it was. A girl who looked about her age with a long brown braid, wearing shades of blue passed by her, struggling to keep up with the person in front of her. The next foreigner who ran by was a boy who also looked her age with long brown hair and startling green eyes. The last person was another girl with short cut black hair who also looked her age.

"Sorry about that, she never looks where she's going!" she shouted back at her, and she assumed she was talking about the orange blur that almost ran her over. Soon, the six Guards she had seen ran past her in the same direction.

There was that urge again; that impetuous nudge that always got her in a large amount of trouble very quickly.

"No, no, go home. Go home." she told herself again. She looked back down the street, and saw the poor kids turn down an alley way. An alley that lead to a dead end.

"Whatever." she said with finality, and took off back down the alley that she had just ascended, hoping that she could catch up with these people in time.

---

We had decided to run down a long alley way, hoping that it would be easier to lose the guards this way, but they were ridiculously persistent. I finally started to think about what would happen if we were caught. They were obviously not used to people from the "other side" showing up in the capital, and they were pretty bloody sure about that. If they were anything like the Fire Nation was during the Reign, than we would probably be tortured and interrogated, than locked up in a cold cell until we finally died. Maybe that's where Zuko was. In some cold cell, his life fleeting away. No, I had to stop thinking that way! My brother was too slick to get captured, and, even if he was, he would find a way to get out. I hope.

Suddenly, I was knocked to the ground most unexpectadly by someone or something.

"Ow." I whispered as I rubbed the back of my head.

"I'm so sorry, really." said a voice I didn't recognize. I assumed that that must have been the voice of the person I collided with. I opened my eyes to see this human wall, and I was faced with a figure, appearing to be a woman, dressed in a long, purple dress with gold lining, and purple cloak with a hood that was low over her head,; her face was in shadow. She reached her hand down for mine, offering her help.

"Um, thanks." I said, taking it.

"I'm just glad I caught up with you." She pulled me up with some relative easiness, and I felt that she was smiling at me. The moment was quickly broken when the many footsteps of the guards could be heard as the ran towards us.

"We have to go." said Manek as he pulled on my arm.

"You won't get far that way, it's a dead end." said the woman, who, I finally noticed, was still standing there.

"And you know a better way?" asked Sonziah, her chest quickly moving up and down, struggling to regain her breath. I could tell the woman nodded because her hood bobbed up and down.

"If you value your lives, you'll follow me."

We all exchanged wary glances, not sure how to continue. We were quickly approaching trouble, and we knew it, but what good would it be if we walked into more trouble? I looked back at the way we came, and knew that there was no salvation there. I looked back at this mysterious figure, scanning her small frame, and figured that if it came down to it, she would be an easier match than six guards. Finally, I nodded my head, making the decision for everyone.

"Okay."

As quickly as she came, she was running down another alley way. I looked to Manek, my eyebrow raised, and he did nothing but shrug. Finally, we took off after her.

She was running so fast, cutting corners and disappearing down allies that shouldn't have even existed, it was becoming difficult to keep up with her. We finally came to a stopping point but only for a moment, for she quickly opened an nondescript door, and beckoned us to follow. We ended up walking completely through someones home, with people actually sitting around, taking part in their separate lives. I was expecting someone to say something about five people walking directly through their home, but they didn't even seem to notice us. Either that, or they were used to it. The woman came to another nondescript door, and when she opened it, we found ourselves in another alley way, only, this time, the sound of the gaurd's trampling feet couldn't be heard. We had lost them, like she promised.

"I think you've lost them." I said to the woman, even though I was looking up and down the long alley, waiting for our pursuers to emerge. Greatly pleased that they didn't, I turned to the woman in purple. "Thank you so much for your help."

Her hood bobbed again.

"Of course. The Guards are known for causing trouble, and I was honored to help to keep lives out of the hands of the Magistrate. He isn't known for being very civil. But, you'll still have to hide out for a while, for they'll be looking for you now. Also," I could hear the humor in her voice. "it looks like, you're all in need of a hot bath and a warm meal."

"A warm meal would be nice. Anything besides rice would be better." said Arra, who was sick and_ tired_ of running, and more than willing to relax for the evening. I knew what this was offering, but I couldn't come to this decision on my own. I called a huddle.

"I think we should accept her offer." said Sonziah once we were all together.

"Yeah, Cin. We do kinda need a base of operations in this new world." stated Manek.

"A hot bath, Cin. Just think, we haven't had any sort of bath in weeks, and a hot one sounds great!" exclaimed Arra, who just wanted to rest her head on a soft pillow if nothing else. I listened to all of their statements, and weighed them equally. They were all definitely right. She had saved our lives already today, and now she was offering a place of rest. We could trust her. But, if she was leading us into some sort of trap, we could take her easily. We broke the huddle, and turned to face the woman, who had been waiting patiently for an answer.

"Alright, we'll accept your help." I told her, assuming the role of speaker of TANG. I could hear her almost squeal from excitement.

"Great, let's go!" She turned around, prepared to take off through the city again, but I stopped her before she could.

"Wait a second. You haven't even shown us your face yet, and I'm not following you anywhere else until you tell me who you are." The woman was silent for a moment, than I thought I heard her laugh, as if she was mocking her own self.

"Yes, of course! I mean, I wouldn't trust someone who hadn't even shown me their face, so I understand your concern." She reached up, pulling back the wide hood of her cloak, and showing her face.

She turned out to be a young girl, about my age, with the characteristic sand colored skin of the Allansarians, but with a bit of a tan. She had short, curly honey blond hair that fell to about her shoulders. Some strands fell in front of her face, and she often had to toss her head some to remove them. She had the traditional, eerie purple eyes that I had seen so frequently in this place, and a kind, trusting smile. There was also this power that seemed to radiate from her very core, illuminating her. All in all, she was a very pretty girl. She held out her hand to me in a warm, open embrace, making me feel like I could trust her no matter what. Her voice was light and perky, but still held a certain maturity and power.

"Hi, I'm Sara."

* * *

**A/N: There you go! I hope you guys like Sara so far, cause she'll be a round for a while. You'll learn a lot more about her in the next chapter. Once again, I'm sorry it took so long. Review please!!!! **

*In Greek Mythology, she is the Earth Mother Goddess


	4. Chapter 3

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes, I know, another long wait, and I'm sorry. But, I would be alot more sorry if people were reviewing! Seriously, guys, I'm getting really depressed here. So, enjoy! Oh, and be warned, this is going to be a pretty long chapter.

CHAPTER 3

"Hi, I'm Sara." I took her offered hand, and shook it soundly.

"I'm Cinrae. This Manek, Sonziah, and Arra." I said, pointing to each of my companions when I spoke their name. Sara nodded to each of them, still wearing her bright smile. "We're here to find..." Suddenly, Sara held up her hand, stopping me.

"Um, I'm sorry to interrupt, but this conversation would be better suited off of the streets, if you don't mind." she said, pulling her hood back over her head, and turning from us. She immediately started back on her trek to Agni knows where. All of my companions glanced at each other, than we took off after her.

For such a sweet looking girl, she sure knew her way around the city like she was born on the streets. It was like following a shadow, keeping up with that girl. Just when I was about to stop this madness and say that we could make it our own way, she stopped directly in front of me.

We were what I assumed to be outside of the city, or, at least, in a less inhabited part of it. There were fewer homes, and the exotic trees, and startling green grass grew in abundance. Now that we were out of the clogged, industrial city, I understood what Arra was saying about the air. There was something electric, almost magical, about it that made my spirit soar. I swore for a moment that I could see tiny spots of power, like stars, floating around me. It was awe inspiring.

While I was being fascinated by the new world around me, Sara had been busy unearthing some kind of door. It was round, and stone, overgrown with wildlife, proving that it hadn't been used in great abundance. Sara mumbled something under her breath, and, suddenly, the lock that bound this door snapped open. I stared in shock for a moment, not really knowing how to analyze what I had just seen. You would think that I would be used to the strange and unexpected by now, but there were still many things left in the world that could shock and amaze me. Sara pulled open the door with a loud grunt, proving how heavy it was, and revealed a long, dark tunnel that lead to what looked like nowhere.

"Go ahead." she said, motioning for us to enter. I gave her one of Manek's "are you bloody kidding me" looks.

"Um, yeah right. I'm not crawling down some dark hole, oblivious to where I am going." I said, my weariness apparent in my voice. In all honesty, I could have just lit a flame in my hand, that would have guided my way, but I wasn't about to let her know that. Sara's shoulders dropped, displaying her obvious annoyance.

"Fine, I'll go in first, but whoever comes in last has to remember to close this door." she said.

"I'll do it." said Manek almost immediately. Sara and I both looked to him, and, even under the shelter of her hood, I could see her wide, purple eyes scanning his form. I felt a little pain of anger in side me for a short moment, but quickly let it subside. Sara nodded at Manek with a bright smile, than entered the dark tunnel. I followed after her, than Arra, than Sonziah, and finally Manek. I heard the loud "thump" that signaled that we were all in. And we were all standing in total darkness.

I was about to blow my secret, and light a flame in my hand, until Sara did something that still amazes me. She held her hand up, and a white, bright light slowly formed in her hand. It was like she was holding a star high above her. The light she made illuminated the entire tunnel for as far down as it went. I could clearly see another door at the far end.

"Wow." mumbled Arra with awe. I would have said something similar, but I was too shocked to speak.

"Follow me." said Sara before she made her way down the newly illuminated tunnel. Now, I could clearly see that great attention that had been put into it. The walls were all delicately engraved stone. They were smooth, and wondrously beautiful. I couldn't help but run my hand along them as I followed Sara.

We soon arrived at the opposite end of the tunnel, much quicker than I would have expected. Sara mumbled something else under her breath, and the lock to this door immediatly snapped open, just like the other one. She gave a strong pull, and the door creaked as it slowly opened. What awaited beyond it was enough to make me wonder if all of this was just one really long, really amazing, dream.

We were apparently inside a very elaborate, beautiful room, the standards of which I have never seen. The walls and ceiling were of rich, beautiful wood that was carved and engraved almost to the point of exaggeration. Portraits of beautiful people in grand outfits lines the walls on all sides. A golden chandelier hung from the ceiling, but the floor to ceiling window provided much of the light.

Sara stepped out first, and ushered the rest of us to follow. Once we were all out, she closed the door behind us, and it turned out to be a panel on the wall. Or, at least, from the inside it appeared that way.

I stood and stared in total and complete awe, not really caring what would happen next, because nothing could beat this.

"So...where are we?" asked Arra as she looked, and touched, everything within her grasp.

"One of the sitting rooms. It's almost never used, so people won't catch us sneaking in." answered Sara who had her ear pressed up against a large door, probably listening to hear if anyone was outside.

"Sitting room in where, exactly?" asked Manek.

"The royal palace." answered Sara very matter-of-factly. The color drained from all of our faces. The royal palace. The palace of the ruler of all of this...weirdness? Fate had decided to prove me wrong once again. This _totally _beat the secret door in the wall thing.

Finally, after staring at Sara in total shock for a while, I managed to ask, "What?" She stared at us all in total obliviousness for what seemed like forever.

"But, of course. Where else would we go?" I exchanged glances with Sonziah, who was standing directly beside me, and I could tell we were both thinking the same thing. 'What the bloody earth?'

"Okay, who exactly are you?" asked Sonziah. Sara didn't turn to face us as she slowly opened the door.

"Ugh...I work in the palace. I pretty much live here. Also, there are so many rooms in the palace, we can certainly find someplace for you to stay." She silently opened the large door, and it opened onto a large, long hallway that seemed to go on forever in both directions. The ceilings were arched all the way down, and strong stone columns supported the ceiling. There was almost no one in the halls, which was strange for a royal palace. But, it would make it easier for us to sneak around.

Sara was the first one to ease out of the sitting room, and into the hall way. She motioned for us to follow, and we quickly did as she bid. Next, it was just the simple act of not getting caught. Once or twice, a group of servant girls dressed in dark purple dresses would walk by, and we would take to hiding behind large items of furniture, and grand columns, but, otherwise, the palace was amazingly quiet.

"Where is everyone?" I asked once we had come to some kind of a stop.

"The Emperor isn't a grand fan of the nobles, so he doesn't keep them around." answered Sara while she was fiddling with another secret door. After she mumbled something under her breath, a panel in the wall opened up to reveal a winding staircase that lead up. Arra, realizing that her never failing curiosity could actually be put into good use , entered first, and eagerly climbed up. I followed after, and we all continued to climb up this winding, iron stair case, Sara bringing up the rear.

As we continued to climb, we came across small, rectangular windows on either side of us, where we could look out, and see the city as you climbed. From above, the city really did look beautiful; shimmering rooftops, and bright, exotic colors, along with the massive population of extravagantly dressed people were only some of the things I noticed that were pleasing to the eye. I was sure that Montar had much more to offer.

The neverending staircase finally came to a halt at an elaboratly engravedwrought iron fance that was locked with a large, ancient metal lock.

"Well, looks like the adventure ends here." mumbled Sonziah, who was directly behind me. Just as she said this, Sara squeezed her way to the front of the line. Her hand quickly disappeared into a deep pocket that was sewn into her skirt, and it quickly reappeared, along with a large ring of keys. The keys were of different size and ware, some small and new, others large and ancient. Sara quickly chose one of the larger keys, and used it to unlock the metal lock. It opened with a loud click, showing that it hadn't been used in a long while. Sara pushed open the iron gate, and continued to climb up another flight of winding stairs.

Fortunately, we didn't have to climb for long, for, soon, we found ourselves in a ridiculously large, round room with a glass ceiling. The floors were a polished wood, and the walls were of cool marble, with some spaces left for wide, round windows that peered high over the entire city. The room was also filled to the brim with stuff. Extravagant tapestries, ancient paintings, figurines and statues, even pieces of furniture. All of them appeared to be from different civilizations, however.

"Wow." said Manek, who had come to stand by me. "It's like a high society flea market."

"Yeah, pretty much." said Sara, who had removed the hood of her cloak, and was now standing next to me. She smiled brightly, seeming to create her own light around her. "Go ahead, look around." she encouraged. We obliged, and made our separate ways through the maze of things.

Most of the things I saw, I could not relate to anythings I've seen before. Nothing from our world. Accept, there was one small statue of a monkey with rubies for eyes. I could have sworn that I had seen that before.

"I never thought that someone could collect so much..."

"Junk?" Manek cut in. I turned and gave him a deadly glare.

"...precious artifacts."

"I'm sure he would appreciate that." said Sara as she trudged around somewhere in the sea of things. "I think it's a bunch of junk however." My eyes shot open, and I could almost feel Manek smirking at my back.

"So, Sara, who's stuff is this, anyway?" asked Manek as he was studying the painting of a nude woman somewhat erupting from a sea shell.

"Um, my father's." she said slowly. Manek and I exchanged glanced.

"You're father? Well, how did he come about it?" he asked as he tried to make his way towards wherever Sara was.

"He's been to a lot of places. He's seen a lot of things. You see, he's kinda an important person."

"How important, exactly?" asked Sonziah, who entered onto the same hall that we were on.

"Oh, nothing big, he's just..." Suddenly, Sara appeared around the corner, her arms wrapped around her torso. ", the Emperor."

My mouth dropped. Not only were we being hidden in the Emperor's palace, but our savior was none other than the Emperor's daughter. This day was just turning out to be full of surprises.

"So, that means you're the princess of Allansar. This could all be a trap!" said Manek, readying his bow.

"No, no!" said Sara as she rushed to him, taking his hands in hers. I could feel my eye twitch at the sight. "No, this isn't a trap. My father doesn't even know that I've been outside of the palace. You see, I love other cultures, especially when my father hasn't conquered them. When I saw you running from the Guards, I knew that when they caught you, you'd be taken to the Magistrate, and probably sentenced to life in the silver mines, or worse. I couldn't let that happen. You see, I really did this to help you."

Sara's big, purple eyes held no lie, and her smile was sincere. I had only known this girl for an hour, at the least, and I trusted her. I might have been leading myself into the ultimate trap, but, I trusted her. I sighed, and lowered my defences.

"Sara, we're on a bit of a mission. Have you run across any other...foreigners in the last few days, weeks--months, dare I say?"

Her face held a solemn expression, as if she was looking off into the abyss.

"I'm sorry, I can't say I have. I mean, you are the first from the Other Side to have made it all the way to the capitol. Anyone else, I do not know of. What kind of mission are you on, if you don't mind me asking?" she asked, taking a seat on a large day bed that rested directly behind her.

"We're looking for someone." said Arra, settling into an overly upholstered chair.

"Someone?" asked Sara.

"Yes, my brother." I answered. "We have been wondering our world for months searching for him. His life hangs in the balance." Sara folded her legs under her, nodding in understanding.

"What exactly are you?" I was slightly taken aback by this question. What am I? Did I not look human to her?

"Well, um, I'm human..." I answered uncertainly. Sara smiled to herself, and raised her hand.

"No, no, I mean what are you socially? Some kind of nobility?"

"Yeah, a little. Well, I guess I'm a little more than a noble."

"How so?"

"She's a princess. Heir to the throne of one of the most powerful nations in the world." said Manek, never one to beat around the bush. Sara's eyes went wide, but not in fear, in pure awe.

"Wow. A princess? Royalty? That is amazing! I've never met royalty from the Other Side. Well, I've never met _anyone_ from the Other Side. What is the name of your nation?"

I really didn't want to tell her anything else. She was so annoyingly interested, it made my head hurt. I know that she was simply curious about my world, since my friends and I were probably the only leak she had to the Other Side, but I never had to tell people everything before. Back home, it was common knowledge. But, since I was already stressed out enough, my morals weren't exactly taking the lead at this point. I was about to turn around and tell her just how annoying she was, but Arra, who heard my thoughts loud and clear, poked me in the side, rather hard, if I may say so, so I pretty much had no choice but to tell her.

"My home is the Fire Nation. It was once the most feared nation in the world. You see, my ancestors were rather power-hungry. They waged a onehundred year war on the rest of the world, and my grand-father was on the verge of winning it, too, if not for all of our parents, who played a special role in saving the world. Now, the Fire Nation is still very powerful, but very respected, as well." Sara listened like a child listens at story time. She was taking all of this in, and storing it for later use.

"Wow. And are all of you from this Fire Nation?" asked Sara, gesturing towards the rest of the group.

"Oh no, we're all from different nations." said Manek. "I'm from the Earth Kingdom."

"I'm from the Southern Water Tribe." said Sonziah.

"And I'm from the Southern Air Temple." chimed in Arra.

"Our world is divided into four different nations," I began, going into teacher mode. "Fire Nation, Earth Kingdom, Water Tribes (Southern and Northern), and the Air Temples. Four elements. There are also certain few in each of the nations who can control the element of their nation, we call it bending. Only on person is born every generation who can control all elements. We call him the Avatar. Well, that is, unless you're Arra. Her father is the Avatar and her mother's a waterbender, so, somehow, she was born able to bend air, the element that her father was born under, and water. Oh, and she can also read minds." Arra smiled, and shrugged, knowing how awesome she was.

Sara nodded, taking all of this in. An entire world that had been shut away from her her entire life now stood before her in plain view. She could learn so much about everything else that was out there, and maybe, someday, escape from under her father's hand.

"This is all so amazing. For hundreds, maybe thousands of years, your world was only a myth. No one ever truly believed it existed. And now, here you are, plain as day! But, how did you cross the Coral Wall? It is bound by a powerful magic."

We all looked at each other, and simply shrugged. We didn't know how we managed to cross this magical barrier.

"Something must be wrong." murmered Sara. "Or, maybe it's fate. I feel that I am meant to meet all of you. I'm not sure why, but, I do. And I swear on Thor's hammer that I will help you in any way I can." she said with a warm smile. I smiled back at her, not doubting for a second that she spoke the truth. Suddenly, Sara stood, as if she had forgotten that she was supposed to be somewhere.

"I'm so sorry, but, I have to go. I have to get back to my room before my father summons me, of he'll suspect that I've been out of the palace. But, I'll be back soon, and with some food, too. When I do return, I can try to brief you on my world." she said, putting her hand to her chest. She turned quickly, and began to make her way back down the winding staircase. "Just make yourselves at home. Oh, and, I'm gonna have to lock the gate back, just to make certain you won't be discovered. See you later!"

And with that, she was gone.

---

"Well, this is lucky." said Arra as she threw herself down on a large, heavily upholstered bed.

"No, this is weird." responded Sonziah, who had her arms tucked tightly over her chest. "This girl saves us from getting arrested, than she sneaks us into the palace of the very ruler we need to avoid. Oh, who, by the way, happens to be her father!"

"Calm down, Sonziah." I said in the calmest voice I could manage. "We're as safe as we're gonna get in this place, so you might as well deal with it. Besides, she doesn't seem like the maniacal kind of princess who would lead us into a trap. What about it, Arra, did you pick up anything from her mind?" I asked, turning to the mind reader in question. She sat up, thinking for a moment, then shook her head slowly.

"No, actually. Her mind had some kind of shield around it. I couldn't get a thing out of her."

Well, there went our leverage. We were completely relying on this girl now. I just hoped we weren't making a huge mistake.

-888-

Sara hurried through the intricate tunnels that filled the palace, praying that she wasn't to late. If she wasn't in her room when her father summoned her, the consequences would be extreme.

Finally, she came to the end of the tunnel, and fumbled with the door that lead to her room. She mumbled a small spell, and the door slid open, turning out to be another panel in her wall. The hidden door slid shut behind her, and was magically sealed to prevent a non-magic user from using it.

Sara quickly threw off her peasant outfit which consisted of a long, brown skirt, and a dark purple tunic. She searched her grand wardrobe for an outfit that would look more her class. She soon chose a twenty pound dress with a large, hoop skirt and layers upon layers of fabric underneath. It was dark red, almost the color of blood, and was tight fitting at the top, running slightly off the shoulder. It's sleeves flared out at the wrist, and ran along the floor when she hung her arms by her side. There was golden embroidery of a vine that ran along the left side of the dress. It was truly a magnificent dress, made in Shorsh, and would have captured the heart of any other woman. Sara, however, wasn't as easy to capture.

She checked herself over in the mirror, and decided not to bother with her hair. She would just take the whole thing down later, so why bother? Just as she was thinking this, a knock came at her door. She took a long, deep breath, and moved to open it. There stood a Guard, dressed in the shining armor of the Royal Guard. He looked young, but, now that she thought about it, all members of the Gaurd looked pretty much the same.

"Princess, your father summons you." he said, his pure Allansarian accent apparent. Sara nodded, and exited her room, closing her door behind her. She followed the Guard down the long, ancient hallways of the palace, even though she knew exactly where she was going. It was the same thing every day. How could she forget?

-888-

Emperor Taurus sat in the throne room that his father had occupied, and his father before him. The large stain glass window that hung directly above the stone throne casted a regal glow throughout the room. The throne sat on a raised dais, where you had to walk up many steps to approach it. The entire room was made of grey stone, with grey marble for the floors, and the long rug that lead from the door at the far end of the throne room to the throne itself was of a dark purple, along with the upholstery of the throne, and every other fabric in the room. There was a throne similar to the Emperor's on a lower dais to the left and the right of the grand throne. One was reserved for the Queen of Allansar. The other, for the heir apparent. Unfortunately, the Gods blessed Emperor Taurus with one child, a girl. The heir to the mighty throne of Allansar would be a girl. That fact alone still made Taurus's blood boil.

Taurus himself was a pretty emposing man, even at the climbing age of forty five. He was tall and broad chested, his body molded from many battles. His dark blond hair was slowly begining to grey in some areas, but it didn't make him anyless threatening. Only wiser. He had the same purple eyes that his daughter was blessed with, and owed that to fine Allansarian breeding.

"You look slightly perplexed, my lord." said the other figure in the room. Taurus looked up, and met the stern, grey eyes of the Master Magician, Cronus. His hair had already greyed, but he was just as tall, as as fit as his Emperor. He wore the long, black robes of all wizards, and wore a heavily embroidered golden sash to prove his status. But, in all reality, you just had to look into his eyes to know what great power he possessed.

"I was just thinking about the future of this empire, Cronus. I am not certain if Sara will be able to handel the role of Emporess." Cronus laughed and smiled at his lord.

"Well, your majesty, isn't that why we plan on marrying her off? She won't have to be Empress at all."

"But the line has always been carried down through the royal family. The male gene is the dominant gene, and I do not want anyone not of pure blood to stain the royal blood line." Taurus had been looking down for so long, that he didn't notice when Cronus moved to stand beside him in about a second. Another wizard power, of course.

"Don't worry, my lord." he said, placing a warm, powerful hand on the Emperor's shoulder. "We will find someone of pure Allansarian blood for Sara. Besides, with our plans for the future running smoothly, you might not have to worry about an heir at all."

Suddenly, the grand door at the end of the hall opened, and Sara walked in. Her long, flattering dress made contact with the floor as she walked, muffling the sound her peasant boots made. She passed the many statues of Emperor's passed, her ancestors, as she made her way to the raised dais that supported the throne. After quite a long while of walking, she reached the dais. She curtsied to the two men before her in respect.

"Father, you summoned me." she said, her voice cool and solid.

"Yes, I did." said Taurus as he sat up straighter. "Cronus, you remember my daughter." The powerful magician turned his cold, grey eyes to face Sara, and she could feel his mind seeping into hers.

"Yes, of course. Good evening, Princess. My, my, you grow more and more beautiful every time I see you."

"Thank you, Master Magician. It is a pleasure to see you, as well." she said, bowing her head. In her mind she was thinking of how much he made her skin crawl.

"Sara, I received word from your tutor that you were falling asleep in your classes again." said Taurus in a cold, stern voice. "Such childish behavior will not be tolerated in the royal family."

"But, father, I still ace all of my exams." Sara pleaded. "I've just had trouble sleeping these days, that's all." Sara could feel Cronus struggling to search the bowels of her mind, so she lowered her head, knowing that if she made eye contact with him, he would brake her already flimsy psychic wall.

"Trouble sleeping?" inquired Taurus.

"Bad dreams." Sara answered. Well, that wasn't a total lie. She had been having bad dreams lately, but she was up late from her studies of a far more interesting topic. Magic.

"Bad dreams, you say? Perhaps Cronus can help silence your night terrors. Cronus, if you please." The Master Magician turned towards Sara, his hands out, and approached her.

"No!" Sara screeched, almost too loudly, as she backed away from the wizard's searing hands. Both Taurus and Cronus raised their eyebrows at the young girl.

"There is no need to fear me, Princess. Magic is a powerful thing, but I have long since mastered it." said Cronus as he attempted to approach Sara again.

"No, I mean, my nurse knows this tea recipe that will help quite my mind, and give me rest. I know how tired wizards can get after using their magic, and I don't wish to cause Master Cronus any pain." she said with a wide smile. In all honesty, she knew that if his hands touched her, the gravest secret she carried would be known by the most powerful man in the world.

"Why, that's very considerate of you, Princess. As you wish, I will not use my magic on you." said Cronus. Sara let out a breath that she didn't realize she was holding.

"Alright then, just make sure your nurse gives you this tea soon. If it does not work, than Cronus will use his magic on you whether you wish it or not. You are dismissed." said Taurus, motioning with his hand for his daughter to leave. Sara curtsied again, than turned, hurrying across the room, and out the door. Cronus stared after her, even after she had exited the room.

"The Princess certainly is a wonder, my lord." he said, turning to face Taurus once more. "Very much like her mother."

"Yes, that's what worries me." said Taurus as he ran his hand through his hair. Cronus glance out a nearby window, and saw that the sun was making it's slow decent towards the horizon.

"I'm afraid I must return to the Isles, my lord." he bowed low, and turned to make his way to the end of the room. "There is still much to be done!" he said loudly when he reached the door, exiting the grand throne room.

"Yes, good evening Cronus. There is still far to much to be done."

* * *

**AN: Hey everyone, I hope you enjoyed the first half of chapter 3! I never originally intended to split this chapter in two, but there is so much information that I need to fit in, I didn't want to drag it out in one never ending chapter, so I just split it in two. Also, I was having a great deal of trouble describing the throne room of the royal palace, and if you want to see a picture of what the throne room is supposed to look like, go to Google Images and look up throne rooms, and the 4th picture across the top of the third page with the web address is what the throne room is my inspiration. Review please!**


	5. Chapter 3: PART II

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, here's the second half of chapter 3! Enjoy! Oh, and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

CHAPTER 3: PART II

As soon as Sara exited the throne room, she immediately went to her room, throwing off the ridiculous dress, and putting on something more comfortable. After that, she made her way to the kitchens.

She had been to the kitchens many times before, so she found her way pretty easily. The kitchens were always bustling and moving, the smell of food filling the air. Sara was almost run over by some server multiple times. After much walking around and getting in other's ways, she found the person she had come for.

A short, round woman stood at a stone counter, mixing a large bowl of cake batter by hand. She wore the assigned clothes of all of the palace servants, but she added her own flair with a few extra rings and bright scarves added on. She tucked a stray strand of dark red hair behind her ear as she continued to mix the cake batter. Her eyes creased together in concentration, making more wrinkles on her already slightly wrinkled face. This was the woman who had practically raised Sara, and still continued to do so today.

"Nurse Edda!" screeched Sara as she popped up behind the short woman. Edda almost dropped her bowl, she was so startled.

"By the God's, your highness! How many times do I have to tell you not to sneak up on me like that? Just about gave me a heart attack, don't 'cha know?"

"Sorry Nurse Edda." said Sara, as a bowl of cake batter was placed in her arms. She assumed that this meant that she was supposed to stir. "I got you that dragons blood you needed for our next session." said Sara, bubbling with excitement. Edda turned to face the young princess, and shook her head.

"I told you, your highness, that these sessions are gonna have to end eventually. I'm just a kitchen witch, and your power requires a real master." she said, stirring furiously.

"Oh please, Nurse Edda, you're the best teacher a wizard could have." said Sara with a wide smile. Edda looked up at the girl she had considered to be her daughter for years, and smiled back.

"Alright, we can have another session in a few days." Sara squealed in delight, and placed a small kiss on the nurse's cheek.

"I also need to ask you to make some of your vegetable soup for me." said Sara, as she cracked an egg, and let the yoke fall into her bowl of batter. Edda looked up at her charge, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, so you want some of my vegetable soup for dinner?" she asked. Sara shrugged, tossing some of her hair over her shoulder.

"Well, not just for me, but for some friends of mine who are staying over. There are four of them, and they haven't really eaten in a while." Edda knew that this entire thing sounded a bit off, but she knew better than to question her princess.

"Alright, I can do that. Anything else?" A few seconds later, the aging nurse was going to wish that she hadn't asked that.

"Oh yeah, actually, how about one, maybe two loaves of fresh baked bread. Also, maybe some fruit tarts so they can have something for dessert, and where is that cider that Cook ordered a few weeks ago. Yeah, bring a few bottles of that, too."

Edda stared at her charge in awe. She wanted her to cook all of that in an unnaturally short amount of time?

"Who exactly are these friends of yours, Princess?" she asked. Sara shrugged, and got the ingredients ready to prepare a meal for four.

"Oh, I just met them today. They've been traveling for a long time, and are in need of a good meal, and I know there's not a better cook on this side of the Forn River." Sara said with a wink. Edda slumped her shoulders, than rolled up her sleeves.

"Alright, now, how many little brats will I have to feed?"

-888-

We sat in silence for a while, just waiting for something to happen next. We could see the sky clearly because of the glass, domed ceiling, and night had fallen. We had all found beds or day beds to take up residence in, and we had even taken the time to take a little nap. Now, we just sat there in silence. Sonziah sat up on her day bed, sharpening her sword for the fortieth time that hour. Arra was making small tornadoes in her hand while laid out on her bed. Manek and I were wrapped up on another bed, him humming some random tune that had been playing in his head all day.

Suddenly, finally, we all heard the sound of the gate being opened. We all rose from our lounging positions, eager to see Sara again. Only, this time, she wasn't alone. A short, almost round woman with bright red hair stood next to the Allansarian princess, holding a small cauldren of a wonderful smelling substance. She stared at us in complete and utter shock. I had this nagging feeling that Sara had failed to tell her friend that we were from the Other Side.

"Hi, everyone." said Sara had her arms full with bowls, utensils, and more food. "This is my nurse, Edda. She's practically raised me, so I trust her with your secret. She won't tell a soul." Edda looked up at Sara than back at us, and nodded soundly.

"The princess speaks the truth, I won't tell a soul. But, I must admit that I would be a little less shocked if her highness had bothered to mention that you were all foreigners. But, you know, can't live with her and all." The short woman placed the cauldron of soup on the ground before us, and we all practically crawled up to it like starving animals.

"I wasn't sure if any of you were vegetarians or not, so I asked Edda to make her world famous vegtable soup for you." said Sara as she tried to balance all of the stuff she was carrying in her arms. "Oh, and I also had her bake some bread, and we made some fruit tarts." With this, Sara let her contents fall onto the ground, revealing two loaves of fresh baked bread, and five fruit tarts.

"Wow, Sara, thanks. And thank you Edda, for preparing all of this." I said, truly thankful that they would care that much. Even though Edda was struggling to keep her hard exterior, I could see her blush slightly.

Sara filled a bowl with this amazing smelling soup for each of us, complete with a large slice of warm bread. She also had brought with her two small barrels of warm cider. Once we were all settled, and supplied with food, Sara decided that now was a good enough time to explain Allansar to us.

"Well, Allansar was once just one continent that was still pretty powerful, but, a few centuries ago, my ancestors decided that the world was meant to be there's. Thus, started the Empire. L'ankva was the first conquered, which is odd, because it's the largest continent in the world. Or, at least, our world. The people there are divided into different tribes and sects, so, they're kinda split up. The people there have dark brown, almost black skin, and are known for the strength and spirit. My father is constantly trying to break them, but he has not yet succeeded. Than, there's Songmare which is the land of the Elves. The Elves are a magical race of immortals who have been inhabiting the Earth since the very beginning. They are believed to be born of the Gods themselves. The Elves are known for their spirituality and connections to the earth. Also, they have amazing, ancient magical powers. Pretty much the entire Magical Order is built off of the basics of Elven magic. They are a very beautiful people, as well. They have never been conquered by an Allansarian Emperor, even though their weapons are primitive compared to ours. No one knows how they've managed to stay independent for so long, but they have.

"Shorsh is another, smaller country which was conqured long ago. It's actually just a branch off of L'ankva, people who tried to escape the Invasion. They didn't last very long, unfourtanetly. Then. there's the Isles of Magic. That's where the Magicians and Wizards study the art. If you show any ability in the Order, they send you there at as young an age as six. Then, you are never heard from again. The Master Magician reigns over the Isles, and is also the Emperor's main advisor. The present Master Magician is Cronus, a snake of a man who deserves a name that means crow. I hate him with an unearthly passion."

We all listened intently, wanting to learn as much about this world as we could. Maybe if we knew what was out there, we could find Zuko easier. But, in all honesty, I wanted to know about Sara herself.

"What about you, Sara?" I asked. "I mean, where's your mom, and the rest of your family?" Sara sighed, and ran her hand through her curly, honey blond hair.

"My...um...my mother died when I was two, so she didn't really have enough time to bear anymore children. It's just me and my father right now. It's just been me and my father for fourteen years. Oh, and Edda, of course." she said, smiling up at her kind nurse. "Also, there's something about me that makes my family even weirder."

We all leaned forward, eager to hear what kind of secret she was carrying. Edda placed a hand on Sara's shoulder, as if warning her not to do what she felt that she was about to do. Sara patted Sara's hand, telling her not to worry, than she continued.

"I'm a wizard."

I'm sure this would have been much more of a shock if we were familiar with the concept of wizards.

"So, what's wrong with that?" asked Arra, her mouth half full. Sara's eyebrows wrinkled in confusion, and she looked up at Edda, only to receive an indifferent shrug.

"Well, um, I guess it's bad because men are usually born with the gift, and only about three women every generation are born with it. Also, if anyone, especially my father, knew that I was a wizard, I would be sent off to the Isles, and that is a fate worse than death."

"That must be really hard, hiding that kind of a secret from everyone." said Manek, who had been amazingly quiet throughout Sara's entire speech. She nodded vigorously, causing her hair to bounce about her head.

"Oh yes, it is. But, I love magic, and I love being a wizard, so I don't intend on giving it up. Edda here is a witch, a magic user of lesser power than a wizard, so she's been teaching me the basics."

"So, that's why you were able to open all of those hidden doors just by mumbling a few words?" asked Sonziah, who had just gotten started on her fruit tart. Sara nodded with a bright smile.

"Yes, exactly. But, enough about me, what about you guys? I know Cinrae's story, but, I'm afraid, I don't know everyone else's." Sara seemed so eager to learn more about us, so we were of course, eager to oblige. Manek would tell his tale first, since he was the other eldest of the group.

"Well, um, I'm from the Earth Kingdom, which is the largest continent in our world. I am not an earthbender, but I can work a bow pretty damn well. I don't remember a lot about my past. In my mind, my life began when I was ten and I woke up in the middle of the forest. I've been a wanderer ever since. Well, that is, until I met Cinrae. Now, I just follow her around the world, and I would follow her to the end of it if she wished it of me." he said, kissing the top of my head. I was never the squealer kind of girl everyone expected me to be, but, I have to admit, he made me want to squeal. Sonziah was next on the story telling line up.

"I was born in the Southern Water Tribe fifteen years ago, and was fathered by Chief Sokka and mothered by Lady Suki of the Kyoshi Warriors. I guess I'm what you can call a princess. I'm not a bender either, but I'm surrounded by so many of them, I might as well be." she said, taking a deep swig of cider. That's the Sonziah we know and love, quick and to the point. Arra, of course, was last.

"Well, I'm Arra, I'm the youngest member of TANG at thirteen! I'm from the Southern Air Temple, my father is Avatar Aang of the Air Temples, and my mom is Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe. Sonny, here, is my big cousin, right Sonziah? Oh, okay, she's not going to talk to me. Anyway, I am a bender, as Cinrae already told you. I can bend water, air, and I can read minds. So, I guess I'm pretty awesome." she said with a shrug. We all laughed at her comment, and Sonziah gave her a slight push. Sara nodded with a wide smile, taking everything in with much enthusiasm.

"I'm so thankful that you have all decided to trust me, and share your stories with me. And I promise that my promise to help in any way I can will be upheld. According to the sun, or lack-there-of, it's getting pretty late." Sara stood, smoothing out her gown. "I'm going to go on to bed, if you don't mind. Tomorrow, I can get your clothes washed for you, and, hopefully, give you a grand tour of Montar. I'll see you in the morning with breakfast. Sweet dreams!" she said as she, along with Nurse Edda, disappeared back down the spiral staircase.

We finished up our dinner, pretty much scraping the bowl on everything, since it was the best thing we had eaten in weeks.

"I like her!" piped Arra, as we sat in a circle on our separate beds. "She really seems like she wants to help us, and she's pretty nice, too."

"Yeah, I like her, too." I responded. "Also, with her vast knowledge of Allansar, she can really help us find Zuko quicker."

"Hm, I still don't trust her completely." said Sonziah, forever the optomist. "But her nurse makes very good vegetable soup."

"Hey, I'll drink to that!" said Manek, who was presently laid out on his back for he was too full to sit up.

"We have a long journey ahead of us, TANG." I said in all seriousness. "Let's make it count." And with that, we settled in for a much deserved night's sleep. We had not only made it to Allansar that morning, but we had been chased through the capitol, were snuck into the royal palace by the daughter of the Emperor, and were now pretty much accepting her into our group. But, even now, as I stared up into the star filled sky, I had this aching feeling that something dark was looming ever closer to our small gang.

-888-

A dark figure sat in her throne, strumming her long fingernails on the arm of the chair. She stared into the Sun Orb, watching as the Fire Nation princess slowly fell asleep. She could feel a slight smirk curl at the far corner of her mouth as her plan began to unfold.

"So, the little brat made it." she said to herself, malice dripping from every word. "Now the games can truly begin."

* * *

**AN: So, there's the end of chapter three, finally! I know there was an awful lot of dialogue, but this chapter was pretty much about Sara explaining Allansar to out heroes, and everyone getting to know each other. And finally we hear from our true villain, but, who could it be? Stay tuned! Review please!!!! Oh, and if you are still confused about the geography of Allansar, go to deviantart, and look up Map of Allansar, and you will find a map of Allansar that I personally drew. It's not all fancy, but it gets the job done. Ok, bye! **


	6. Chapter 4

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, here's the next chapter! I really need reviews people, come on. Enjoy!

CHAPTER 4

Things had been actually progressing for the young Fire Lord Zuko ever since he accepted his children's disappearances. Well, family wise. The Fire Nation was taking a dangerous turn towards all out civil war, but we won't get into the, yet. He wasn't anywhere close to the mental state he had been at before Zuko II and Cinrae disappeared, but his golden eyes were shining with a new glow. This particular evening, he was sitting in the garden with the young Iroh, watching the turtle ducks converse with each other, when he saw a solider running towards him with unbelievable speed. This kind of chaos could only mean something bad.

"My Lord, a messenger hawk arrived today, bearing the standard of your daughter, Sir!" he said as he skidded to a halt in front of his Fire Lord. Zuko didn't know how to react for a moment. Months, almost an entire year of not hearing anything from his eldest children, and suddenly word from his daughter arrives. It could be a trick. Some kind of game that bored child of a noble decided to play on him. But, the standard. Only Cinrae carried her seal, so it had to be her.

Zuko stood, his royal robes of fine, hand woven silk brushing against the ground. He quickly took the parchment from the solider, and, sure enough, the seal was that of a phoenix soaring. He quickly tore off the seal, and unfolded the parchment. The letter was certainly short, but it was just long enough to satisfy Zuko. It read as follows:

_Dad, _

_Hi, Dad. It's me Cinrae, even though, I guess, you already figured that out. I know you haven't heard from me in a long time, and I'm sorry about that, but I haven't been able to slow down until now. I can't tell you where I've been, or what I've been up to, but just know that I have certainly been busy. I have found Zuko. Well, okay, I haven't **found **him yet, but I'm on his trail. I will find him soon. I'm sure Aunt Katara and Uncle Aang, along with Uncle Sokka, and Aunt Suki, told you that they had seen me, and that I'm off on some whacko journey to find Zuko, and kinda abducted their kids. Well, that is pretty much true. But don't freak out! I'm serious, Dad, I can see you pinching the bridge of your nose right now. Remember your breathing exercises. In. Out. In. Out. There you go. Anyway, I'll get word back to you as soon as I've made progress. Please, don't worry about me. I'm among friends. Oh, and tell Mom and the boys I said hi. I love you. _

_-Cinrae_

And there, the letter ended. Zuko smiled, and quickly wiped the tears from his filling eyes. His daughter knew him far too well. By Agni, it was her idea to go to those cursed anger management sessions. The annoying thing was that they actually helped. He was relieved beyond understanding, but he was also enraged. Enraged at the fact that all of his dearest friends had seen Cinrae, had talked to her, and were aware of where she was headed, and they didn't tell him. Knowing how worried he was, and they still didn't tell him. This kind of trespass would not go unnoticed. He folded the parchment back up, and wrapped his fingers around it. He looked up at the solider, who still stood at full attention, waiting for further orders.

"Prepare an air ship. I'm going to the Southern Air Temple." he said, his voice as cold as ice.

-888-

Aang and Katara sat in the airy, overgrown courtyard of the Southern Air Temple, watching as Kazuma made small, and some not so small, tornadoes with his airbending. The family laughed and smiled, enjoying the pleasant afternoon, but Zuko always did have a way of breaking the moment.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" he shouted as he stormed into the courtyard. Aang immediately stood while Katara quickly grabbed Kaz and pulled him into her lap.

"What are you talking about Zuko? Please, calm down." said Aang, struggling to keep his voice steady, but Zuko was far too gone to back off now.

"No, I will not calm down, Aang! You knew where Cinrae was, by Agni, you talked to her, and you didn't tell me! You knew how worried I was about her, and you didn't tell me! How dare you, Aang, after all we've been through together, to keep something like this away from me is something I never would have expected from you. And Katara!" he said, turning his raging furry on the blue eyed woman who stood, looking on in shock. "You of all people to keep a secret of this scope from me. With all of that 'we're all in this together' crap that you preach, you'd think you'd have more loyalty than that!" That was it, Aang was already growing tired of this blind rant, but for Zuko to insult his wife in such a manner was too far.

"Alright, that's it!" said Aang, standing at his full height, which was about 6'4". "Zuko, you storm into my home, disturbing the peace of my family, and shout out accusations and insults like a mad man! Now, if you don't calm down and speak to me like the strong king you are this instant, I will personally throw your ass out of my home right now!" His voice suddenly dropped a few octaves, and he stood where there was very little space between him and Zuko. "And you know I can."

Zuko looked into the stormy grey eyes of his old friend, and knew that it would probably be better if he just calmed down. He sat down on a fallen over statue, and ran his hands through his long hair. What was happening to him?

"I'm so sorry Aang, Katara, I've just been so stressed out about this. She's my baby girl, guys. I mean, how would you feel if your daughter was out there in the world, somewhere, lost to you."

"Our daughter is out there, with yours, actually." said Katara, who walked over to sit next to Zuko. "And we worry about her just as much as you worry about Cinrae. But, we raised her well, and we know she can take care of herself. You must trust Cinrae, Zuko. You must trust that she knows what she's doing." Zuko looked up into Katara's soothing, startling blue eyes, and he felt his heart rate lessen, and his head began to clear. She was right, he had to trust Cinrae. Suddenly feeling much better, he sat up straight, and smoothed out his robe. He was the Fire Lord, by golly, and he needed to start acting like it.

"But, I am still upset about you not telling me of her whereabouts." said Zuko, who had not forgotten the reason why he had come to the Southern Air Temple in the first place. "Why wouldn't you alert me to something like that?"

Katara and Aang looked at eachother, each thinking the same thing, than they finally shrugged.

"We knew you'd go after her." said Katara with a sigh.

"Yes, and if you went after her, her entire destiny would be altered." said Aang, his spiritual intuition coming forward. "The path that has been laid before her cannot be altered by any means. Don't give me that look, Zuko; I don't know what will happen. I just know that it will." Zuko rolled his eyes, and shrugged his shoulders. tired of Aang always _knowing_ but not _knowing_.

"Now, Zuko, let's talk about you." said Katara, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. He knew that firm shoulder grip. It meant that he was in trouble.

"What about me, Katara?" he asked, leaning back.

"Why haven't you told Zuko Jr. and Cinrae about Jasmine, yet?" Zuko groaned loudly, and stood, walking away, but Katara continued. "They are eighteen years old, and they are still under the impression that Mai is their mother!"

"Why should I tell them?" Zuko shouted back. "They are both perfectly content believing that Mai is their mom. If I told them...it would only confuse them." Aang had remained silent during this entire exchange, but he chose now as the opportune moment to step in.

"That is not entirely true, Zuko. She knows that Jasmine exists, and she is curious to know more. She has that Fire Nation royalty stubbornness, so she will find out sooner or later. She wouldn't be quite as upset about the matter if you told her yourself." Zuko nodded, knowing that the wise monk was right. Cinrae would find out who Jasmine was, and when she did, trouble would be awaiting him.

"Fine, fine, I'll tell her, and Zuko, when they come home." Zuko said with a forced smile. Then, he turned to Aang, and his smile faded. "They will come home, won't they, Aang?"

The Avatar stared at his friend for a moment, taking in his entire stature. He truly loved his children, and Aang could see how their loss was eating at him. Aang hadn't seen him this torn up since Jasmine died. Well, that is until he accepted Cinrae and little Zuzu into his life. Aang could remember how Zuko would send him and his wife about six letters a day, describing in joyous detail the antics his children had gotten into. And every time, the paragraphs about how much Cinrae looked like her mother would get shorter and shorter. But, they would never dissipate completely. His children were his life, and if he lost them, he'd lose everything.

"Yes, my friend. They will come home." Zuko smiled kindly, and, with a slight nod of the head, he exited the courtyard. Katara came to stand beside her husband, intertwining her arm in his.

"Will they come home, Aang?" she asked, resting her head on his shoulder. Aang took a deep breath, and slowly let it out, as if he was just emerging from the depths of the sea, gasping for air. He looked down at his loving wife; the woman who had stood by his side through everything, given him two beautiful children, and helped him save the world.

"I don't know, my love. In all honesty, I don't know."

* * *

**AN: Yes, okay, I know this chapter was pretty much all dialogue, but I couldn't help it. Please, please review. Please. Okay, that's all! **


	7. Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you so much Cottonpaw and DarkFlame Alchemist for reviewing the last chapter! Please continue to do so, I would really appreciate that. Ok, on with the show!

CHAPTER 5

The sun's rays touched my skin, and slowly ignited my entire being, starting from the inside, and fanning out. I could feel Manek's warm breath on my neck, and his chest rising and falling against my back. His arm was wrapped tightly around my waist, making me feel safe. It was such a pleasant awakening, I had almost forgotten where I was. Almost. I slowly opened my eyes, and saw that, yes, I was still in the odd, yet elegant storage room of the palace of the Emperor. And it was his wizard daughter who put us there.

"Goodmorning!"

Speak of the devil.

I jumped up straight in bed, wide-eyed and alert, and I saw Sara standing there with a bright smile on her face. She was wearing a purple wrap around dress with gold lining on the sleeves and the hem. Manek was so startled by her greeting, he fell out of the bed. The sound of Sonziah drawing her sword could be heard, signifying the she was also awake, but Arra did not wake up in a startled frenzy. In fact, she wasn't in her bed at all.

"Goodmorning, Sara." I mumbled, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. Manek dragged himself off of the floor by grabbing onto the sheets of the bed, his pillow resting on top of his head.

"Yeah, good morning my a..." I quickly put my hand over Manek's mouth, knowing that Sara was not accustomed to Manek's more...provocative greetings. I smiled up at Sara, but I noticed that she wasn't looking at me. There was a pink hue to her cheeks, and her eyes were absolutely locked on Manek. I looked back at Manek, slightly confused as to why she would be embarrassed, but I immediately noticed when I really looked at him. I never really noticed that he slept without a shirt on. I always knew that Manek was very attractive, and was built perfectly, but the thought that other girls would find him just as attractive as I did never occurred to me.

"Um, Manek, would you mind putting your shirt on?" I asked with a strained smile, keeping my eyes on Sara.

"Why? I'm not cold." he said, preparing to go into a long stretch where he pulled his arms above his head...and flexed every muscle in his body. I could not let that happen. I grabbed his shirt from the other side of the bed, and threw it at his head.

"Just put your shirt on!" I yelled. Manek knew that tone, and decided not to dispute my authority.

"So, um, has anyone seen Arra?" I asked, trying to get everyone's mind off of Manek's chest.

"Right here!" I heard Arra chime. We all looked up and saw Arra making her descent to the ground. "Sorry, I woke up at dawn to do my meditations on the roof. Did I miss anything?" she asked, her smile wide and bright.

"Almost." said Sara. " I came to ask if you would all like a nice, warm bath to start off the morning." We all perked up at this. A bath was a luxury that we had not taken part in in some time.

"That would be great." I said with a sigh. Sara beamed once again, her power almost radiating from her.

"Wonderful! I can take all of the girls to my courtyard where my out door bath is, and Manek, Edda is waiting at the bottom of the stairs to take you to a hot spring just outside of the palace." I couldn't help but laugh at the look on Manek's face when he heard that he would be bathing not in a royal outdoor bath, oh no, but in a hot spring somewhere in the woods. With the nurse as a guide. Sara must have read the look on Manek's face.

"Sorry Manek, but there are more girls, so you're overruled. Don't worry, though, the hot spring is very nice, and Edda knows the way. So shall we be off?"

-888-

Manek and the rest of us went our separate ways once we exited the long staircase that lead to the storage room. Manek was lead in one direction, while Sara lead the rest of us in another. Once again, the grand halls were empty and quiet. While we walked, I had a chance to study the architecture of the building. It was ancient, that was apparent, but it was amazingly well managed. The beautiful white marble stone floors shimmered, and the natural stone walls and columns were smooth to the touch. A stranger would think that no one lived in the palace at all; it was just constantly cleaned.

We finally reached a large archway that was flooded with light from outside. We were lead through it, and entered into a private courtyard. The same white marble that covered the floors of the interior of the palace, covered the outside, as well, with wide squares cut out to hold the trees that grew. The square cut outs were filled with red stones, giving the courtyard an eerie, otherworldly look. Stone statues of men and women draped in fabric were scattered throughout the courtyard, but they were scattered in an oddly symmetrical way. High walls lined with pointed iron surrounded the courtyard, keeping priding eyes from looking in on the young princess. In the center of the courtyard was a large, round fountain, with many tiers that traveled higher and higher, spilling clear water back down into the base of the fountain. It was molded out of simple stone, and was not decorated with any statues or figurines. It was oddly simple for such an extravagant arrangement.

"Here we are." said Sara. "I come out here a lot when it's warm either to bathe, or just sit and relax. Oh, and don't worry, no one can see over those walls, so you're totally safe."

"What about that open archway? Won't someone see us through there?" asked Sonziah, the major general.

"No one could see through there anyway because of the set up of the trees, but, just in case, I put a contego charm on the archway." All of us "Other Siders" looked at each other in confusion. Sara got the point pretty quickly. "A contego charm is a shield charm. It puts a kind of veil over the archway, so it looks like no one is out here. It even blocks out noise. A very useful charm."

We all nodded, but it would be a long time before we completely understood what all of this meant. Sara immediately began to strip down, so the rest of us did the same. Most of us had known each other large portions of our lives, and had grown together, so we weren't shy at all. Even though, maybe because of Sara, we acted as if we had never taken off our clothes before.

"Um, where do we put our clothes?" asked Arra. Sara pointed towards that wall to a stone bench under a weeping willow tree.

"There's fine. After we go into town and get you some new clothes, I can have those washed for you." We all walked over to the bench, putting our clothes down in neat, separate piles. I stopped to notice that Arra was taking off her grandmother's engagement necklace, which has been passed down through the women on the Southern Water Tribe family for three generations. I thought she never took it off.

"You're taking off your grandmother's necklace, Arra?" I asked.

"Oh, yeah, I don't want to get it wet. My mom got it wet way too much, so I'm trying to salvage it." she said with a smile. I smiled in return, and we walked back over to the fountain. Sara was bent over it, her hand dipped into the water. There was a perplexed look on her face.

"I'm sorry, guys, but the water isn't even luke warm. The heater must be broken. I hope you all don't mind a cold bath." I smirked slightly, and walked over to the edge of the fountain, putting my hand in the water. I let the heat radiate through my body, and centered it on my hand. It glowed red for a moment, than the water began to steam. I looked up, and saw this awed look on Sara's face. I must admit, I was kinda flattered, even though the process of heating water was basic back home.

"So, you're a firebender?" asked Sara with a half smile on her face. I shrugged and nodded.

"Yeah. I have been my whole life. My father is a master firebender, but my mom's not. It's actually very odd that both my brother and I are benders, but the rest of our siblings aren't. That was just a little parlor trick, though. I can do a lot of other things." Sara smiled like an eager student learning a new fact, and slowly stepped into the water. She sighed in content.

"It's perfect." she said as she stepped all the way in.

"You should see my uncle." I added as I also stepped into the fountain. "He can turn an entire lake into a sauna." Sonziah and Arra also climbed into the bath, letting the water run over them. The water was scented, and there were small bars of soup in certain tiers of the fountain, along with towels and loofahs. It really was an outdoor bath. Arra had let down her hair completely, taking out multiple hair pins, and combing loose thick braids that we didn't even know were there. Her thick brown hair floated around her like a veil, making her look like a water siren. She bended the water and shampoo through her hair, cleaning it, while Sonziah scrubbed her back. I used the loofah to scrub down every inch of my flesh, making sure that my skin and hair almost reeked of flowers and perfumes. I just hoped Manek was having just as pleasant a time as we were.

---

It took about twenty minutes to scale the mountain that Edda called a hill to get to this amazing hot spring, and another fifteen minutes to actually find it. Manek was pretty much hiking through the jungle. Finally, Edda lead him to a small pond that was steaming slightly from the heat.

"This is the hot spring." she said, not sounding happy about baby sitting some foreign hoodlum. Manek nodded with a smile, and said thank you, expecting Edda to head back to the palace, or, at least, walk away, but she didn't move. Manek glanced around, making sure that there was nothing standing behind him that she was staring at, than sighed deeply.

"You're not going anywhere, are you?" he asked.

"Nope." answered Edda. Manek sighed again, and prepared to pull his shirt over his head.

"Can you at least turn around?" he asked, almost wining. Edda shook her head. Manek slumped, and continued to take off his clothes, even though he tried as hard as he could to hide his more private parts. Edda soon grew tired of his stalling.

"Oh, come now, boy, I've seen more of a man than you can even fathom, so just take off you're clothes, and take your bath!" Edda ordered. Manek stared at the short, round woman, thinking of how he could notch her to his bow, and send her flying through the sky, but, considering what Sara said about her being a witch, he decided against it.

So, he spent his entire bath being stared it by a small, round, witch. He had never been in a more awkward situation in his life.

--

We had long since finished cleaning, but, now, we just decided to lounge in the bath, talking.

"So, what's the fashion like where you're from?" asked Sara as she made little spirals in the water.

"Um, it changes every few years, but, right now, everything's pretty casual." I answered.

"Yeah, women are wearing pants a lot more, and tight fitting clothes." said Arra, who was busy braiding Sonziah's hair.

"And tunics are in." jumped in Sonziah. I didn't even know she was into fashion.

"Every nation has their own color scheme." I continued. "The Fire Nation has reds, blacks, and golds. The Earth Kingdom has greens and browns. The Water Tribes are blues, silvers, and whites. And the Air Temples are orange, peach, and some browns. The fashions are really worked around the color schemes."

"Yeah, it's pretty much like that here. The Allansarian colors are purples, blues, golds, and silvers, but since we've conquered so many places, we kinda borrow a lot of their fabrics and colors. What about the guys, what are they like? I see Manek's pretty handsome." Sara said with a side smile. She immediately noticed my cold eyes, and she backed down. "But, I can also see that he's yours, Cinrae. How long have you been together?" I smiled slightly as I thought back on the months I had spent with Manek. All of the times we had, all of the things we had seen.

"Two and a half months, just about. But we've been friends for four. It feels like we've been together forever, though." Sara, Sonziah, and Arra all smiled in content, and I immediately felt like I was at someone's baby shower. So, to change to mood, I moved on. "So, you asked about guys. I must say, our world's guys always seem to grow more and more beautiful with every generation." I said with a slight smile.

"Oh, I must agree!" said Arra, who was once again bubbling with excitement. "I think Fire Nation boys just keep getting better and better. What do you think, Sonny" asked Arra with a wide smile. Now, Arra and I both knew that Sonziah had never gotten that into boys, and had never dated before, even though it was mostly because the guys who dared approach her couldn't keep up, but she was human, still. She stared back and forth between the rest of us, than a light smile spread on her face.

"I prefere Earth Kingdom boys, myself."Than, we all burst out into loud, joyous laughter. Somewhere in the fun, a water fight had been declared, and we were all being soaked by Arra and her waterbending mastery. Note to reader: never start any form of water battle with a waterbender; you will be defeated.

Unknown to us, we were being watched by a young, sneaky pair of eyes. A young boy watched us from the top of the stone wall. He didn't seem all that interested in watching four girls play in the water, but had found more interesting entertainment in the nice pile of clothes below him. Especially in a beautiful pendant necklace on a blue ribbon. He could trick someone into giving him a nice piece of change for that. Using a long vine with an old fishing hook tied to the end, he attempted to retrieve it.

Arra was having a great time playing in the water, her element, but something suddenly caught her attention. She immediately stopped, and began to look around the courtyard, seeking out the signal she had picked up.

"What's wrong, Arra?" I asked, knowing that her mental powers were always right on cue.

"I'm picking up someone else's mind loud and clear. They're close by, and male. Their thoughts are loud, but not exactly clear." Finally, she caught sight of a boy using a vine and a fishing hook to pull her necklace over the edge of the wall. "My grandmother's necklace!" she screeched. She grabbed a dry towel from the edge of the bath, tied it around her chest so it hung like a short dress, and was off in the blink of an eye.

"Who was that?" I asked, standing up to see if I could catch a glimpse of where Arra had disappeared off to.

"Oh, that was probably Leo." answered Sara, who was now drying her hair.

"Leo?" asked Sonziah.

"Yeah, he's a kid, just a year older than Arra actually, who lives around here. He's a street urchin, and a thief, but he's a really nice kid. I doubt Arra will catch him, though. He's really fast."

Sonziah and I looked at eachother with knowing half smiles, and responded in unison, "Arra's faster."

---

Leo raced down the back alleys of the city as fast as he could, but the girl was still right behind him.

"By the gods. What is this girl, half cheetah?" he mumbled to himself as he turned a sharp corner into another alley. He ran through the deep puddles of water, soaking his pants to the ankle. Arra could hear the sound of splashing water from a mile off. She skidded to a halt at the end of the alley, and saw the thief splashing through puddles as he attempted to make it to the other end. Arra quickly raised her arms in a long, fluid motion, and bended the water to where it pinned Leo to the wall, freezing him there on contact. Arra smiled at a job well done, and made her way towards the startled, and frozen boy.

The look on Leo's face was a combination of awe and fear. He had never seen anyone do anything like that before. He feared for a moment that he had stolen from some witch; a person he couldn't lie to as easily. But, when he saw this strange girl up close, he instead wondered if he was being chased by a water nymph instead. Arra's long hair was still down, and was shimmering due to the water. Complemented by her large blue eyes and slightly tanned skin, she looked exotic, startling and beautiful.

"You know, it's very rude for you to steal things, especially from defenceless girls minding their own buisness." said Arra once she was face to face with the boy.

"Hugh. Believe me, you are nothing close to defenceless." said Leo, who's chest was heaving wildly.

Arra took this moment to study to boy closely. His skin was light brown, not like anyone else's she had seen in Allansar, and his dark brown hair was worn in long dread locks. His eyes were a deep, forest green, complementing his otherworldly look. He wore long, black pants tucked into boots, and a loose white shirt under a long coat. He also wore a large captain's hat, decorated with a highly plumed white feather. He looked about Arra's age, maybe a year older, and he was one of the most handsome boys Arra had ever seen.

"Well, be you right or wrong about that, stealing my grandmother's necklace was not called for." said Arra in a saucy, defiant manner. She plucked the necklace from Leo's hand, which was frozen at the wrist to the wall. "Thank you for returning it to me." Arra turned to walk away, but Leo wasn't about to let her go yet.

"Wait a second! Who are you? _What _are you?" Arra turned to look over her shoulder, and smiled lightly.

"My name's Arra." She once again turned, and vanished around the corner.

"Arra." Leo said, almost in a whisper. Suddenly, the water that was holding him to the wall melted, dropping him to the ground. He stared in wonder, an amazed smile on his face. Now he definitely wanted to know more about this girl.

"Hey, hold on!" he called as he ran after Arra, who was walking rather slowly for an airbender. Leo decided that now was a good time to turn on the charm.

"So, you're name's Arra? Arra-bontana-savanah-montana." He stopped directly in front of her, flashing her a wide, charming smile, and extending his hand. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Arra looked down at his hand, than back up at his face. She laughed slightly, than continued on her way. Leo stared after her for a moment in shock.

"Wow. That almost always works. Sometimes. Kinda. Okay, it never works." He looked up, and continued to chase after Arra. Once he caught up with her, he started talking again.

"I don't think I ever told you my name." he said with a flamboyant air. Arra remained quiet. "So, yeah, my name is Leo, yes, like the lion. Montar's resident thief, vagabond, and certified, bona fide liar." He was, of course, very proud of his title, and thought he could impress Arra with it, but she didn't act fazed at all. She just wore that same kind, knowing smile that infuriated the boys back home so much.

"How interesting for you. Nice to meet you, Leo."

"Well, you're obviously not from around here?." he said, scanning her body one more time. "So, where are you from?"

"Not around here." answered Arra. Leo rolled his eyes in slight frustration.

"Well, duh, but..." Arra stopped suddenly in front of the wall that separated Sara's courtyard from the outside world. Leo noticed her staring up at it, and remembered that it was from the other side of the wall she had come.

"Oh, you're staying at the royal palace, I see. What's the occassion?" he asked.

"Um, I'm a friend of Sara's." said Arra as she backed up some away from the wall. Leo threw his head back, throwing up his arms, an expression of mock shock on his face.

"No way! I'm totally a friend of Sara's, too. See, there's a conversation starter for ya." But, before Leo could bombard her with more words, Arra flipped into the air, pushing her feet against the wall of the courtyard, propelling her to the opposite wall, where she once again pushed herself into the air, doing a back flip over the top of the wall. Before she she completely disappeared, however, she smiled down at Leo, giving him a little wave.

Leo stared up at the tall, imposing wall, and let out a long whistle. This girl was no joke.

"You should just turn around now, Leo. Girls who can freeze you to a wall, and propel themselves twenty feet into the air are nothing but trouble." Leo stood there for a moment, debating the possible outcomes of following her over the edge. Finally, he shrugged in defeat. "Who am I kidding? I love trouble." And with that, he began to scale the stone wall.

---

Arra landed in the courtyard with a light bounce, tying her necklace around her neck.

"You got your necklace back, I see." I said as I laced up my worn boots. Arra looked up me quickly, and I wondered for a moment if she had even heard me at all.

"Oh yeah, I did. And I got something else, too. He should be here in about five, four, three, two..."

Suddenly, the same boy who had stolen Arra's necklace fell rather ungracefully into the courtyard from the top of the wall. Arra beamed with pride.

"...one."

"That is one long fall." said the boy as he stood, stretching his back. "I don't even know how I got up there in the first place."

"Hey Leo. I guess you've met your match with Arra, hugh?" asked Sara, her hands placed firmly on her hips, and a wide grin on her face. Leo shrugged, and stood up straight, as if he didn't just fall from the top of a twenty foot wall.

"Well, you know how the tourists can get. I didn't want to upset her and cause a big scene." he said as he approached us. It was then that I think he noticed that he was standing in the midst of three new gorgeous faces. "Princess, you didn't tell me you were having a slumber party." he said with a glimmer in his eyes. We all giggled slightly, warming up very well to the young charmer.

"Leo, this is Cinrae, Sonziah, and I guess you've already met Arra. They're Other Siders." Leo's eyes widened some, and he nodded slightly.

"Other Siders, hugh? Well, you really aren't from around here, are you?" Leo asked, even though his eyes were focused on Arra. Arra blushed slightly, and looked away. I noticed this, and I couldn't resist nudging Arra slightly, just to embarrass her.

"So, Leo, I was about to show there 'toursists' around Montar. Do you think you could assist me with that?" asked Sara, even though she already knew the answer. Leo beamed for a moment with pride, but than donned a kind of blase expression.

"Sure, but, only because I just happen to not have anything to do right now. I'd be happy to show these foreigners around. " he answered with a light smile. Even though I didn't recognize the feeling immediatly, I knew that Leo wasn't just going to be our guide for the day, or anything impersonal like that. He was going to have a major role in this journey, and a major role in my new life.

* * *

**AN: Yes, I know, another long one. Sorry. Again. Anyway, new character! He's is going to be around for a long while, so get to know him. Also, had anyone noticed that Aunt Wu's prophecy is slowly coming true? Just some food for thought, there. Review, please! Oh, before I forget, the language of magic in Allansar will be Lation. So, when you see Lation words like contego, which means sheild, those are Latin words. I really didn't feel like creating a whole new language. Yeah, I'm lazy, I know. :) **


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